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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran starts to fuel up first nuclear power plant
2010-08-22
Iran began fuelling its first nuclear power plant on Saturday, a potent symbol of its growing regional sway and rejection of international sanctions designed to prevent it building a nuclear bomb.

Iranian television showed live pictures of Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi and his Russian counterpart watching a fuel rod assembly being prepared for insertion into the reactor near the Gulf city of Bushehr.

"Despite all the pressures, sanctions and hardships imposed by Western nations, we are now witnessing the start-up of the largest symbol of Iran's peaceful nuclear activities," Salehi told a news conference afterwards.
Posted by:Fred

#8  HAARETZ OP-ED: WAKE UP! | IRAN MAY NEVER USE AN ATOM BOMB, BUT ISRAEL CAN'T TAKE THE RISK. Even a small or minor % chance of use = 100% destruction of Israel, + Iran's nuclearization will embolden Local, Regional Militant Groups unto new levels of violence [use of increasingly advanced Weapons].
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2010-08-22 23:36  

#7  Its perfectly ok to bomb it now: you're just scattering unburned non-irradiated fuel that's a neutron emitter. No big deal.

Once you pull rods and start fissioning the stuff, then you're producing actinides and gamma emitters and stuff with 20000 year half-lives. Nothing short of dropping a mountain on top of top of it and entombing it will be safe.

of course, I'm working on that, but I gather that the "mode of solution" would cause some heartburn among some Rantburg regulars.

I'll just apologize then, if you don't mind...
Posted by: Ptah   2010-08-22 16:59  

#6  "Or am I just heartless?"

In this particular case, why would that be a problem, JonC? ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2010-08-22 13:50  

#5  I've seen that some have said that now that it's being fueled the window for (the US|Israel) to attack is past. I don't see why. An attack after it's fueled would make it that much harder to restart, right? Or am I just heartless?
Posted by: JonC   2010-08-22 13:32  

#4  This plant is less of a threat then the many U enrichment plants that Iran is operating.

The Bushehr will be monitored, the U-enrichment plants are not. We know where the Bushehr plant is (it is an easy target near the Persian gulf), we don't know where all the U enrichment plants are.

It will be interesting to see if the Bushehr works well. It is a patchwork of various designs. It has a capacity of about 1 GW. Although Iran will claim otherwise, it might never exceed 50 MW if some of the tech stuff doesn't match the other tech stuff.
Posted by: lord garth   2010-08-22 11:17  

#3  Barry is simply passing this one along to the next POTUS. He's a one termer, he doesn't give a damn! In three weeks it'll be time for another 10 day vacation. I predict South Africa. Madiba is 91 and slipping fast. Barry needs photographs. Could throw in a day or two stop in Kenya.
Posted by: Besoeker   2010-08-22 08:22  

#2  Our American leadership has overestimated the value of sanctions and underestimated the doggedness of the Iranians.
Posted by: American Delight   2010-08-22 07:01  

#1  Well,
They've made a right proper fool of us, haven't they.
Posted by: bigjim-CA   2010-08-22 03:01  

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